NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2019: Plant conservation physiology

这一行动为NSF 2019财年生物学博士后研究奖学金-使用生物收藏进行研究-提供资金。该奖学金支持将以创新方式利用生物收藏的研究员的研究和培训。这项研究将集中在苏铁上，这是一组起源于大约2.7亿年前的不同寻常的种子植物。今天，苏铁是地球上最受威胁的植物之一，大约65%的物种处于灭绝的危险之中。苏铁具有许多独特的生物学特征，可以为植物功能的进化提供重要的见解。然而，人们对它们的生态学和生理学几乎一无所知，这使得这个项目对于理解种子植物功能的进化至关重要，这一故事与物种本身一样濒临灭绝。事实上，立法者和环保人士迫切需要工具来拯救这些神秘的植物，使其免于灭绝。因此，这个项目将通过解决苏铁生物学基本方面的主要差距，同时产生变革性的数据和工具，包括那些对解决南非苏铁生存的紧迫威胁至关重要的数据和工具，为最早的陆地植物种子生物学提供新的见解。该项目将解决南非苏铁生存面临的两个最大的人为威胁：1)非法偷猎，这是对生存最重大的直接威胁；2)气候变化，这是对长期生存的最大威胁。该项目通过在法医同位素生态学、进化生理学和物种分布建模方面使用最近开发的协议来解决这些威胁。位于南非国家标本馆的非洲最大的苏铁植物标本馆，以及位于佛罗里达州迈阿密的蒙哥马利植物中心维护的世界上最广泛的苏铁活体研究标本库之一，将被用于广泛的数据收集。作为这项研究的一部分，该研究员将发展关键的专业熟练程度，包括1)通过领导一个包容的本科生研究小组来培养指导技能，以及2)通过与研究、教学和学习一体化中心(威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校)合作来开发、实施和发布有效的学习策略。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2019, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will utilize biological collections in innovative ways. This research will focus on cycads, an unusual group of seed plants that originated around 270 million years ago. Today, cycads are among the most threatened plants on Earth, with approximately 65% of species at risk of extinction. Cycads have many distinctive biological features that can offer significant insights into the evolution of plant function. However, almost nothing is known about their ecology and physiology, making this project critical to understanding the evolution of seed plant function, a story that is as critically endangered as the species themselves. Indeed, lawmakers and conservationists are desperate for tools to save these enigmatic plants from extinction. Thus, this project will provide new insights into one of the earliest examples of land plant seed biology by addressing major gaps in basic aspects of cycad biology, while simultaneously producing transformative data and tools, including those critical to address the urgent threats to cycad survival in South Africa.This project will address the two greatest human-imposed threats to South African cycad survival, 1) illegal poaching, which is the most significant immediate threat to survival, and 2) a changing climate, which is the greatest threat to long-term survival. The project addresses these threats by using recently developed protocols in forensic isotope ecology, evolutionary physiology, and species distribution modelling. The largest herbarium collection of cycads in Africa at the National Herbarium in South Africa, and one of the most extensive living research collections of cycads in the world, maintained at the Montgomery Botanical Center in Miami, FL will be leveraged for extensive data collections. As part of this this research, the fellow will develop key professional proficiencies including 1) mentorship skills by leading an inclusive group of undergraduates in research, and 2) teaching skills by working with the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (University of Wisconsin-Madison) to develop, implement, and publish effective learning strategies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.